Monday – Gaspè, Quebec, Canada
Today, we arrived in French-speaking Gaspè, or to be more precise; we dropped anchor in The Bay of Gaspè. Anyone wishing to go ashore had to take a tender boat.
It wasn’t a half-day; we’d arrived at around 7:30am and would be leaving at 7pm. I was on tour this afternoon; my instructions were to be on the quayside at 1pm, ready to leave at 1:30pm. With the tender boat trip taking approximately 30 minutes, my plan was to leave at about 11am, which should give me about 90 minutes to take a look at Gaspè.
However; I never quite made it as far as the town. After stepping ashore, the first thing I discovered was free wi-fi, available from a cafe/bar right alongside the quay. I spent almost a hour sat outside the bar, updating stuff, and just when I decided it was time to make a move, as I lifted my mobile phone from my pocket, I also unwittingly lifted out my plastic cruise card. The card slipped out of my pocket, fell towards the floor, through a narrow gap between the wooden decking where I was sat, and into the darkness below.
I tried frantically to see if there was any access to the underside of the staging, but it was futile. With only 30 minutes to go before the time I was due to be present by the coaches, I wondered if I should start to panic; on the last couple of ports, the shoreside officials have been a bit keen, insisting not only on seeing everyone’s plastic cruise cards, but also on seeing a second form of photo-ID.
As it turned out, it wasn’t a problem. Things were very relaxed on the quayside where we were, and I would be climbing straight onto a bus at the start of the tour, and straight back onto a tender when we returned.. On top of this; Susan, the Shore Excursions manager had decided she would join my tour, so I figured I’d just stay close to her… she could vouch for me if the need arose.
Our tour coach turned out to be a yellow School Bus. This fascinated me slightly, until we had to drive an hour and a quarter to our destination; those things really aren’t built for comfort!
Our destination was a little touristy town called Persè. Here, we decanted into a small boat, which took us on a trip to look at Persè Rock, and Bonaventure Island.
At 375 million years old, 433 metres long, 90 metres wide and 88 metres high (at its highest point), Persè Rock is an impressive mass of rock and limestone, with an estimated weight of five million tins, and sporting a spectacular natural 15-metre-high arch that would, at one time (according to some old photos we’d been shown) have been one of three. Our boat took us around both sides of the rock that is joined to the mainland at low tide by a narrow causeway, very similar to the one at St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall. As we sailed around the rock, folks were walking across the causeway to explore the small pebbly beaches around the rock’s base.
After Persè Rock, our boat changed course and took us to Bonaventure a mile or so further out. Bonaventure Island is uninhabited, but allows visitors by boat between the hours of 7am and 5pm. It’s a National Park renowned for its remarkable flora and fauna, and its immense gannet colony. Interestingly enough, the island is also a prolongation of the Appalachian Mountains.
As we circumnavigated the 6 miles around the island in our little boat, we enjoyed the sight of thousands of seabirds nestled along the cliff faces. They have gannets, razorbills, gulls, murres, puffins and cormorants, here (apparently). Mostly, we saw gannets, though.
In the waters around the base of the cliffs, we saw grey seals swimming and basking on the rocks. All quite a sight; and although we’d been promised whales, we didn’t see anything bigger than the seals in the hour and a half that we were out in the little boat.
Back on land, we were given an hour’s free time before it would be time to return to the School Bus. Neither myself or Susan had had any lunch, and were starving, so we grabbed a bite to eat at one of the restaurants on the main street, before rounding everyone up. Persè is very much a holiday destination, with cafes, restaurants and bars, and gift shops galore. It seemed a very relaxed place, though… quite pleasant, in fact.
We bounced around in our little yellow School Bus back to Gaspè, pausing only to gaze at a rocks designated as an ‘Indian Face’. I hate to say it, but if you stare at any rock face long enough, you’ll start to see faces in it. Back at Gaspè, a thirty minute tender ride brought us back to the ship. Fortunately; I hadn’t been asked for my cruise card once. At the gangway, when I am supposed to present my card to be swiped, I held out my hands and shrugged… “I lost it”, I said. Actually; I hadn’t lost it… I knew exactly where it was; beneath the decking on the bar by the quayside.
I don’t know why, but all the time changes seem to be taking their toll. We’re now five hours behind UK time, which means that we’ve been steady putting our clocks back and periodically gaining an hour every few days. The knock-on effect of this is that I’ve been waking up really early, and feeling extra tired at the end of the day. This evening was no exception. There wasn’t a show on tonight; it was movie night in the show lounge, so I figured it would be an ideal opportunity to catch up on some work and write my blog. But by 9pm, I could barely keep my eyes open, and couldn’t concentrate to do anything. So, that was another early night, then….
